Wednesday, September 24, 2014

“We come together at a crossroads between war and peace”. Funny, seems to me like a pretty straight road from war to warsville.

“Russian aggression in Europe recalls the days when large nations trampled small ones in pursuit of territorial ambition.” You mean it recalls every single day in human history?

“The brutality of terrorists in Syria and Iraq forces us to look into the heart of darkness.” Or at least the Cliff’s Notes.

He complains about Russia sending troops into Ukraine, because, as the UN Charter clearly states, “borders are sacrosanct unless it’s Syria or something.”

“This is a vision of the world in which might makes right -- a world in which one nation’s borders can be redrawn by another”. Er, how does he think the border of Ukraine was drawn in the first place? Especially when he’s talking about Crimea.

“We believe that right makes might -- that bigger nations should not be able to bully smaller ones, and that people should be able to choose their own future.” Which is why we’re teaming up with Saudi Arabia to bomb Syria and Iraq.

“If the world acts together, we can make sure that all of our children enjoy lives of opportunity and dignity.” Dignity? Has he SEEN our children?

“Of course, terrorism is not new. Speaking before this Assembly, President Kennedy put it well: ‘Terror is not a new weapon,’ he said.” Actually, he was speaking (in 1961) about the Russian blockade of West Berlin. not about terrorism.

“we have reaffirmed again and again that the United States is not and never will be at war with Islam.” Because it gets a big laugh every time.

“Belief in permanent religious war is the misguided refuge of extremists who cannot build or create anything”. What, has he never heard of Hobby Lobby?

“No God condones this terror. No grievance justifies these actions. There can be no reasoning -- no negotiation -- with this brand of evil. The only language understood by killers like this is the language of force.” Fortunately the US speaks jive the language of force.

“The ideology of ISIL or al Qaeda or Boko Haram will wilt and die if it is consistently exposed and confronted and refuted in the light of day.” Because if there’s one thing that stops people becoming violent militant insurgents, it’s reasoned debate.

“And here I’d like to speak directly to young people across the Muslim world. You come from a great tradition that stands for education, not ignorance; innovation, not destruction; the dignity of life, not murder. Those who call you away from this path are betraying this tradition, not defending it.” Obama really has to learn that he can’t lecture everybody on every subject. He does not get to tell Muslims what Islam is. Especially since the only options he’s allowing people born into the Muslim “tradition” is between different ways of practicing Islam. No experimenting with Zen Buddhism or deciding that atheism makes sense to you.

He mentions Ferguson, but somehow sees it as a positive example of... something: “But we welcome the scrutiny of the world -- because what you see in America is a country that has steadily worked to address our problems, to make our union more perfect, to bridge the divides that existed at the founding of this nation. America is not the same as it was 100 years ago, or 50 years ago, or even a decade ago.” Yeah, the police are better armed. “Because we hold our leaders accountable”. Unlike the police.